This week, our local grocery store was sampling some of the newer flavors of Lay's potato chips: crispy taco and fried pickles with ranch. The woman preparing little cups filled with chips cheerfully offered Emma a sample, but when Emma heard the flavors, she scrunched...
The talking stick is a tradition deeply embedded in many Indigenous cultures. You might have heard about this practice, where a physical stick or other object is passed around to facilitate respectful dialogue. It’s a helpful idea—a simple way to designate who is speaking and prevent...
As the Olympic Games come to a close, I find myself reflecting on the incredible displays of athletic achievement. We have heard so many stories of athletes who poured years of dedication, sacrifice, and effort into their pursuits, culminating in their moment of triumph as...
Watching Simone Biles make her triumphant return at the Paris Olympics, I thought back to the 2020 Games and some of the backstory that didn’t get quite as much attention. While Simone is rightfully celebrated as the greatest gymnast of all time, I find myself...
When lists of best restaurants in Phoenix are published, Pizzeria Bianco is often at the top. The six wood-fired pizzas offered on the menu are simple and uncluttered; a few toppings carefully combined on top of a hand-shaped and slightly charred crust. This week, I was...
“Who are we but the stories we tell ourselves, about ourselves, and believe?” –Scott Turow Television was limited for the girls when they were little, and nothing made them happier than watching the animated TV show Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood as a special treat. One evening, after a very big...
Emma and I sat in the waiting room of the orthodontist’s office, the clock ticking slowly, each minute seeming to drag longer than the last. The magazines were old, the movie playing on the TV screen uninteresting, the toys uninspiring. Emma shifted in her chair;...
I remember the way the book looked: dark blue with embossed white text. The cover of the book showed two children walking along a winding path, as if they were inviting you to tag along with them to learn about the stories contained within the...
While taking an evening walk, I noticed a bee resting on a bright red rose. The sky was darkening, and the bee, nestled in the delicate petals, seemed out of place, as if he had missed the call to return to his hive. Bees are the hardest...
There’s a teenage boy leaning against a cork tree. It looks almost like a normal tree, except the outermost layer of bark has been removed from a section of the base, revealing a smooth underlayer. A spray-painted year on the tree indicates when the cork...